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Workplace Violence and Harassment

Assignment 2 - Research Paper

Anmolpreet Kaur

Jagdeep Kaur

Sahilpreet Singh

Ravinder Singh Dandiwal

Centennial College

GNED 126 – 003

Michelle Wang

2nd November, 2020

Workplace Violence and Harassment

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Violence and Harassment issue has been inclined their roots almost all of the workplaces and take

grotesque shape specially at the workplaces. However, it is seen that 1 out of 5 cases of violent are

reported at work that cause serious injuries. This may occur with anyone and damage anybody, not

only employees and their co- employees but also clients, patients, customers, managers, students,

friends and even relatives are influenced from this issue. Violent and harassing behaviours include

kicking, hitting, biting, throwing objects, bullying, sexual harassment, oral or written abuse resulting

physically and psychological harm (Ferron Mae, E. & Kovacs, J., 2019).

Violence and harassment at workplace are concerned practices due to serious and growing

problem. As we can say that it is critical global issue that has significant risk for all the sectors,

organisations and occupations. Which put negative influence on the growth of a country. By

considering the term workplace violence, it consists the physical force that is use against a person

which usually harm a person physically or psychological. Therefore, all such practices are too difficult

for a person to tolerate. Additionally, workplace harassment is another broad term that comprise all

the harassment which violate or prohibited under human rights code. On the other hand, to

overcome all these violent behaviours at workplace government implemented an Act by the name of

Occupation Heath and Safety Act (OHSA). But this issue is still prevailing at the workplaces which

make it more concerned issue.

Background:

Regarding this issue, Canada Government tried to make a move to ensure that all federal workplaces

are free from violence and harassment. To find out the existence of violence and harassment at

workplace, government issue two forms to answer by all the Canadians. As executives of government

followed online surveys, meetings and conferences with stakeholders. After the report that is based

on qualitative and quantitative analysis seen that workplace violence and harassment is becoming
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the concerning issue. In order to overcome this unwanted behaviours and violence, employers have

particular responsibilities regarding this practice under Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to

protect the workers from violence and harassment.

1.What is workplace violence?

Where the laws and regulations of the OHS (and Labor Standards) in Canada include responsibilities

to employers to avoid violence at work, the extent of those obligations depends in part on the

general definition of violence in the Law. However, it is increasingly accepted that aggression

includes psychological violence beyond physical behaviour.

In the case of the federal authorities, a broad definition of workplace violence is included under the 

newly updated CLC Occupational Health and Safety Regulations Limit "physical harm" abuse.Instead, 

violence is described as "any conduct, actions, threat or action of an individual towards an employee 

at his or her place of work that can reasonably be expected to cause him or her harm, injury or disea

se." Criminal Victimization in the Workplace” (2004)

2.what are the OHS Duties for Employers to Prevent Harassment?

Violence at work is no longer confined to physical assault. As suggested above, the OHS law

increasingly holds employers accountable for employee psychological wellbeing by forcing

employees to protect themselves from abuse. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and now Ontario have in

their OHS laws clear meanings and responsibilities for avoidance of "harassment." Again, the Labor

Standards Act describes and forbids "psychological abuse" in Québec. Fairly, the workers, who

claimed that they have endured abuse from work place-related cases prior to the implementation of

Bill 168 amendments to OHS legislation in ON, tried to have the OLRB rectify the alleged violation of

OHSA laws that forbid reprisals, brought before the Ontario Labor Relations Boards (OLRB).The OLRB
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has traditionally opposed reprisal painting as beyond the OHSA 's sphere Orin the Ontario Human

Rights Commission 's jurisdiction, at least as simply and more relevant.

3. What is the role of investigative juries – urging reforms in the law on violence?

Murder cases have been commonly documented in the workplace. Many readers would be familiar

with Sears Canada 's case in 1996 in which, after threatening and stalking, Theresa Vince was killed

on the job by her manager, and the one in 1999 in which a bus driver shot, killed and injured a few

others and committed suicide. (R v. Burlington Resources Canada Inc. (19 December 2003), G Most

people are aware of the incident of the Hôtel Dieu Grace Hospital in 2005 in which Lori Dupont has

been killed at work. An investigation to investigate death, causes and preventative measures can be

called upon when a worker is killed. legislation stipulates in many states that inquiries in certain

accidents at work are compulsory. For instance, an inquiry for building or mining fatality is needed

under the Ontario Coroner's Act. In other occupational accidents, coroners are discretionary to order

an investigation. The investigating jury made detailed recommendations to the government on the

implementation of legislation on workplace violence reduction, covering Sears Canada, OC Transpo

and HôtelDieu Grace Hospital. The Dupont Inquest findings in particular appear to have driven

Ontario to amend the Ontario OHSA to add widespread employer obligations to prevent abuse in the

workplace. (Cheryl A. Edwards)nov.2010

4. What are the latest OHS provisions of Ontario on abuse and harassment?

A especially hot topic in Ontario is the overhaul of OHS law to add accountability for workplace

prevention of abuse. In 1997, the Ontario Government began an initiative for violence on the
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workplace across the province that included education programmes and issuing enforcement orders

that mandated high-risk employers to establish politics and polices for prevention of violence, to

carry out risk evaluations and participate in training for violence prevention. In conjunction with the

general provisions of OHSA, this project culminated in hundreds of enforcement orders for

employers in Ontario requiring employees to take "any appropriate precaution" to protect the

employees. The Ontario government subsequently introduced aggressive and harassment related

clauses into the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Legislation moving on from this initiative

and the jury's findings in the matter of Dupont.

5. The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work Due to the Risk of Violence

The laws of OHS in Canada allow employees to deny employment if they feel that the working or

working conditions are unsafe for fair grounds. Job denials inevitably cause the employer's duty to

inquire. A failure to work will lead, pending a decision by the employer or if the problem can not be

solved, to a thorough investigation and disturbance in the workplace. To date, no Canadian OHS law

provides the clear right to deny 'harassment' jobs, although it is not difficult to contemplate that

employees have reason to believe that a health and security situation, including workplace abuse,

harassment or bullying, has led to an unstable state and to have havoc

Workplace Harassment Prevention-

Workplace harassment is behavior, conduct, actions and statements made to or about an individual

or a group of individuals, which creates an uncomfortable work environment for the targeted
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persons and those offended but not directly targeted. As stated in the workplace violence part, in

order to avoid violence, management should state every rule to every associate and if any associate

does not follow the rules management should have right to write up the employee or they can give

warning to that employee so that he does not abuse any other employee.

Secondly to prevent harassment at workplace, there are many rules made by the government. If

employee is harassed at work by other employee, he can speak up for himself and take the issue to

the management or to the legal authorities. Address your HR office preparing expert about building

up an instructional course that explicitly addresses work environment badgering. The preparation

ought to be proper for all degrees of representatives from hourly to compensation, and from cutting

edge laborers to chief initiative. Take-aways or composed arrangement proclamations sway how

much data is held; circulate duplicates of your organization's enemy of badgering strategy. Act

quickly to explore grumblings of provocation. These issues are inside the domain of your

representative relations authority. A few contested badgering claims incorporate charges that the

business sat on a grievance without completely exploring it. Remind all instructional meeting

participants that examinations require full collaboration from the worker, the supposed harasser and

any observers to the supposed provocation (Mayhew, n.d.)

To conclude, number of lessons learn which are OHS duties for employers to Prevent Harassment

And what is workplace violence. A part from this laws and regulations of the OHS (and Labor

Standards) in Canada include responsibilities also the role of investigative juries and Right to Refuse

Unsafe Work Due to the Risk of Violence, the latest OHS provisions of Ontario and how to prevent

these workplace harassments and whom to report while these incidents happen
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References

Ferron Mae, E. & Kovacs, J. (2019, December). Preventing Violence and Harassment in Canadian

Workplaces. Retrieved from

https://www.csagroup.org/wp-content/uploads/CSA-Group-Research-Preventing-Violence-and-

Harassment-in-Canadian-Workplaces.pdf

Mayhew (Mayhew, n.d.). How to Prevent Harassment in the Workplace. Retrieved from

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/prevent-harassment-workplace-2625.html